With the rise in recent years of both radical Islamic terrorism and anti-Muslim bigotry, Sharia -- or Islamic religious law -- has become a hot topic of debate.

Some of its harsher versions can demand women clad in all black, adulterers being stoned and thieves getting their hands cut off. But Sharia governs many other areas of Muslim life, such as prayer. And many Muslims, turning to Sharia for moral guidance, have more moderate and varied interpretations.

Here's what you need to know about Sharia:

What does its name mean?

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The word Sharia means "the path," or "a road that leads one to water." It refers to a set of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims.

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What's in Sharia?

Sharia is based on Islam's holy book, the Quran, and the life of prophet Mohammed. The majority of it concerns the faith of the individual and how to practice Islam, along with guidance on when to pray and how to fast during Ramadan.

Shariah law, according to Muslims, includes "the principle of treating other people justly, of making sure that the financial system treats people fairly ... and most importantly the basic principles of Islamic fate," says Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman.

It encompasses things like marriage, divorce, inheritance and punishments for criminal offenses.

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Is it one law, or many?

While the Quran and the life of the prophet make up Sharia, its interpretation is called 'fikh' and is done through Muslim scholarship. Most practicing Muslims take their cues about their faith from Sharia, but it is not practiced uniformly.

Where is it practiced?

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Sharia has been applied in varying degrees and with great diversity in practice -- both by individual Muslims and predominantly Muslim countries. While both Saudi Arabia and Iran claim to be ruled by Sharia, they differ greatly in how they implement its laws.